Third Tier Tires becoming increasingly popular

[Trav]

I have bought a couple of cars that had almost new Sumitomo and Kumho They were not okay, in rain both sucked bad and in the lightest snow they were deadly. On the Suby I put Toyo Celsius on it and on the 2 Saabs Pirelli P7 AS+ and on the Viggen P Zero summer. The Pirelli have been excellent, the Toyo excellent in snow but only fair to good in the other seasons because of the tread causes minor wandering, as this is a winter car it is not an issue.

 

[Elkins45]

Where does Nexen fall on the tier list? How about Hankook?

 

[Tdbo]

LingLong and Supertech are a BITOG penny pincher's dream combo.

Combine both of those with an old Crown Vic and a Hodozzy stereo for tunes, and it would be the ultimate BITOG Cruzin' Machine.

 

[OVERKILL]

I cant say I recall many reputable local or national news bits about supposed rash of Chinese tire failures in years.

I wouldn't expect widespread failure, that's like expecting an SKS to blow up in your face, rather than just be the cheap rifle with mediocre accuracy that it is. Ergo, the expectation for Chinese tires should be performance at a similar level.

https://tirecrunch.com/are-chinese-tires-any-good/

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/09/chinese-truck-tires-are-no-bargain/index.htm

 

[CKN]

Where does Nexen fall on the tier list? How about Hankook?

Again-not an expert but I would say 2nd tier. I have run both tires that you mentioned with good results.

 

[edyvw]

I've only had the winter-tire version of the Nokians. I can't comment on how the all-season or summer tires perform.

I've used them on three vehicles. They have been superior to the Goodyear or Michelin winter tires I had used previously.

R2 is winter.

 

[eljefino]

Where does Nexen fall on the tier list? How about Hankook?

Nexen 2-3, Hankook 1-2 depending on model.

And I'll jump in and say depending on model is probably pretty universal. Michelin used to make a tire just for Sears. It was ok but not a barn burner, a 2 all day long.

You get someone like TBC brands that make all the private label tires, those are a 2-3, IMO. No two tire chains carry the same brands, so you can't cross-shop price. But at least the parent company will be around in five years, and you've got somewhere local to go complain to or have recall work done. They're not cutting edge tech but they know how to not suck completely.

Cooper puts the best tech in their own premium models, 1s. Their older molds get reused by Starfire, Dean, MasterCraft etc... 2s. Distributors seem to like to sell these through gas stations and independents.

You get the brands on Amazon or Walmart when you sort by price-- those are 3s. Premiorri Solazo? Wasn't that Lt. Drebin disguised as an opera singer at a baseball game?

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

When the politician thieves steal your income and redistribute it to others we have less purchasing power

What about the
corporate theives?

 

[Skippy722]

What about the
corporate theives?

Aren’t they the same?

I’ll stick to my Yokohama Geolandar G015’s. The van is getting a set in a month or 2.

 

[zzyzzx]

I think the more low profile ones are less forgiving. Really depends on what market segment we're talking here.

Don't all new vehicles have low profile tires?

 

[nascarnation]

I bought a 500 dollar Saturn which has four Aspen Touring 235/65-16 mfg by Sumitomo Thailand sold by Big O.
They are unusually noisy but seem OK otherwise. Something I'd never purchase myself but since they only have about 10,000 miles on them, I'm not planning to replace them.

 

[zzyzzx]

I think Goodyear makes some good tires and "to spec" tires that can be mediocre... Like the ones supplied with new Jeep products over the years.

This!! My 1995 Escort came with Goodyears that I would describe as mediocre. I would still take these made in USA mediocre tires over third tier, third world country tires. I have never had trouble finding made in USA tires for my vehicles. Even on my bicycle I use made in Germany tires.

Even if you don't have money Walmart sells reasonably priced made in USA tires (Douglas / Goodyear).

Those Chinese tires didn't work out for the Russian army for a reason.

 

[Snagglefoot]

It will only be a matter of time before the marketing dummies start using brand names that are Anglo Saxon in nature rather than trying to translate Chinese word combinations that are popular in China but sound dorky in English.

Like, come on!

 

[CKN]

This!! My 1995 Escort came with Goodyears that I would describe as mediocre. I would still take these made in USA mediocre tires over third tier, third world country tires. I have never had trouble finding made in USA tires for my vehicles. Even on my bicycle I use made in Germany tires.

Even if you don't have money Walmart sells reasonably priced made in USA tires (Douglas / Goodyear).

Those Chinese tires didn't work out for the Russian army for a reason.

The tires that were purchased by corrupt Russian army buyers were the wrong ones for the intended purposes-in many cases. In addition many of their military vehicles sat out in the sun-and the tires on the vehicles dry rotted.

"That's "the rest of the story"......

 

[zzyzzx]

It will only be a matter of time before the marketing dummies start using brand names that are Anglo Saxon in nature rather than trying to translate Chinese word combinations that are popular in China but sound dorky in English.

It would seem that buying defunct US brands might also be an option.

 

[burnbomber]

I'm considering Nexen 5000 Platinum for our next purchase. They're Korean, and they tested well by Consumer Reports, with excellent snow traction. Here's what they said:

Excellent snow traction headlines this capable tire to tackle all weather conditions. Very good marks for dry braking, handling, hydroplaning resistance. A quiet and comfortable ride, too. Nexen calls this model a grand touring all-season model, but CR found it to have standout snow traction performance putting some all weather and dedicated winter/ snow tires on notice.

 

[fdcg27]

One must also bear in mind the notion of being penny wise and pound foolish.
Tires are a consumable that you'll run for a long time, so any current savings will not be all that much spread over the life of the tires in cost per year or per mile.
With top tier tires now pushing a grand for a set in the sizes our current rides require, going cheap may seem tempting but I don't know that the savings per year or mile would be there over the life of the set.
In the context of the cost of everything else, using a cheaper toilet paper or eating more chicken rather than beef won't kill you. With a cheap set of tires, you may be taking a different level of risk. You may not as well, but I'd rather run Michelins or Pirellis over some name no one has ever heard of.

 

[Kira]

So, it appears tires are "unexaminable".
We should have some hard data by now, no?

Is there any data showing world distribution or tire manufacturing machines?
Is the distribution of raw materials involved?

 

[CKN]

One must also bear in mind the notion of being penny wise and pound foolish.
Tires are a consumable that you'll run for a long time, so any current savings will not be all that much spread over the life of the tires in cost per year or per mile.
With top tier tires now pushing a grand for a set in the sizes our current rides require, going cheap may seem tempting but I don't know that the savings per year or mile would be there over the life of the set.
In the context of the cost of everything else, using a cheaper toilet paper or eating more chicken rather than beef won't kill you. With a cheap set of tires, you may be taking a different level of risk. You may not as well, but I'd rather run Michelins or Pirellis over some name no one has ever heard of.

There has been very few documented cases of this-in the last few years. It's all paranoia-that runs rampant on here.

 

[daves87rs]

My size for the Cavalier is down to Chinese tires (14s)

Both Uniroyal and General is discontinuing their tires in my size. Cooper is down to a Mastercraft tire.

There are a few others out there, but the rest are 3rd tiers……